When Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus stepped behind the lectern in Halas Hall’s media room on Monday, he was on defense. He had already gone three-and-out and viral on social media.
“Coach, your cellphone is as bad as the offense right now,” ESPN 1000 radio host David Kaplan said as Eberflus’ phone connection broke up for the third time during his weekly interview on the team’s flagship station.
Eberflus never returned to finish the interview while Kaplan’s commentary spread on social media. Eberflus didn’t have any decisions to share on the radio or later during his news conference at Halas Hall, either.
But everyone knew what was coming.
The Bears fired offensive offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday morning and replaced him with Thomas Brown, the team’s passing game coordinator.
The move itself is far from surprising. According to Pro Football Reference, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams ranks 28th in traditional passer rating, 30th in QBR, 32nd in completion percentage, 33rd in sack percentage and 30th in adjusted net yards per attempt among qualified quarterbacks.
Something had to be done. Someone had to go. Firing Waldron is the obvious move, but there are so many layers to this. Let’s discuss.
Adam Jahns: Fish, I want to start with this. It’s just fitting that this is all happening during the week that the Bears are playing the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. I can hear the boos already. The Packers are coming off their bye week with extra time to prepare for Sunday, while the Bears fired their offensive coordinator after nine games and seemingly wasted a day of game prep going through “the process” that Eberflus couldn’t stop talking about on Monday. The Bears had to fire Waldron, but Brown isn’t exactly in an enviable position.
Kevin Fishbain: Fortunately for Brown, what can be worse than scoring three points against the last-place Patriots? Scoring zero points against the Packers? We hear all the time about this being a cutthroat business, but sometimes the Bears are too nice. I wonder if this is an example of it, and it being to their detriment. This is not what Eberflus wanted to do. There’s also the factor of general manager Ryan Poles, Eberflus and Waldron all sharing an agent. I’m sure they were working to find a solution, but this is a historically bad offense with a historically — in Bears terms — talented group of players. Something had to change. Brown is highly thought of. He seems like the type of person who would always be prepared for something like this, and I imagine his experience in Carolina helped.
Jahns: And that was quite the experience! Brown left the Los Angeles Rams to be the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator last season. The Panthers, of course, took quarterback Bryce Young with the first pick they obtained from the Bears. The whole season was a disaster. Brown took over play-calling duties from former coach Frank Reich during the season before Reich took them back. Reich was eventually fired after a 1-10 start. Brown surely learned some hard lessons. He has eight games to fix the offense and to get Williams back on the right path with his development. The easy part of the Bears’ schedule is over, though.
Fishbain: Brown has a much better complement of weapons to work with on this offense than he had in Carolina, but the remaining schedule is daunting. Here’s how the next four teams on their schedule rank in opponent passer rating allowed: 12th (Packers), fifth (Vikings), first (Lions) and sixth (49ers). Oh, and the Vikings lead the league in takeaways, followed by the Packers and Lions. The 49ers are ninth. The opposing defenses are tougher. The question is, can Brown’s play-calling and leadership help get the most out of the quarterback and the receivers around him?
Jahns: Here’s the problem, though. What’s ahead is about more than Williams’ development or what’s going on with wide receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and rookie Rome Odunze. Eberflus is hanging on by a thread here. In a way, Brown is now coaching to save Eberflus’ job. That isn’t hyperbole. There have been too many signs of discord to ignore. Veteran players should be upset. They should want change. Firing Waldron is just one part of this. Brown is Eberflus’ third offensive coordinator in three seasons, not to mention all the staff changes that happened during and after last season. Williams could improve under Brown, but the Bears can still lose against better teams. And then everyone is shown the door after the season.
Fishbain: And then the cycle continues! If the Bears fire this coaching staff, Williams will have three play callers in his first 18 NFL games. It would be the third time in less than a decade that the Bears have drafted a quarterback in the first round, only to fire the coach after the season. We’re approaching the worst-case scenario, and it’s not fair to put everything on Brown to fix it. It would have to be some kind of miraculous run of wins and Williams performing at a high level that could make Eberflus’ bosses forget about the moments that led to this point. If Brown makes a huge difference in Williams’ development and puts him on the right trajectory heading into 2025, that would help salvage this season, regardless of record or future changes.
Jahns: You’re right that it’s not fair. And I would say, if anything, any Williams improvements will salvage Brown’s reputation before it saves anyone else’s jobs. He’d rise above the mess that the Bears have become this season. The Bears hired Waldron over Brown but also Kliff Kingsbury, Zac Robinson, Liam Coen and Greg Roman, who were also interviewed and are now coordinating better offenses in the NFL. Brown was also a head coaching candidate in previous cycles.
Fishbain: We talked about the Bears entering a worst-case scenario, but this would be the best-case scenario for the final eight games. What if the offense takes off, Williams looks like the No. 1 pick we saw in London, and Brown is a galvanizing leader? Is he an option to be the next head coach? Does he stick around to call plays for a new head coach (Mike Vrabel, anyone?)? It’s still strange to talk in these terms only 16 days after the Bears were two seconds away from being 5-2, but that’s what a three-game losing streak and the first Bears offensive coordinator to be fired in-season has done. Everything is on the table for the Bears’ future, and there are major decisions to be made in the next couple of months. They’ve done everything possible to ruin what was supposed to be a great situation at quarterback. Now they have to fix it.
Jahns: Starting against the Packers.
(Top photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
